Dental floss holder

ABSTRACT

A dental floss holder having a housing which forms a handle and supports a floss holding head as by a neck cantilever mounted on the housing. A pincer arranged in the housing is spring-biased to normally grip floss extending from a supply spool also arranged in the housing to the head and to retain the floss for being manually tensioned by a ring and clamp arrangement selectively clampable on a free end of the floss. The pincer is selectively releasable from the floss for passing clean floss from the spool to the head. The latter has a pair of spaced, co-directionally extending fingers forming a fork across which a length of floss is arranged for use. Each finger has a pair of floss guides provided thereon and arranged spaced from one another along the extent of the associated finger.

United States Patent [1 1 Cash [ 1 June 3, 1975 1 DENTAL FLOSS HOLDER [76] Inventor: Walter A. Cash, PO. Box 160,

Missoula, Mont. 59801 [22] Filed: Dec. 7, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 422,781

[52] US. Cl. 132/91 [51] Int. Cl. A61c 15/00 [58] Field of Search 132/91, 90, 92 R, 84 A [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,725,703 8/1929 Eby 132/92 R 1,916,653 7/1933 Bodde 132/92 R 2,233,936 3/1941 Campbell 132/84 A 2,492,291 12/1949 Johnson i 132/92 R 2,873,749 2/1959 Gjerde 132/91 3,759,273 9/1973 Knaus 132/92 R Primary Examiner-G. E. McNeill Attorney, Agent, or FirmClarence A. OBrien; Harvey B. Jacobson [57] ABSTRACT A dental floss holder having a housing which forms a handle and supports a floss holding head as by a neck cantilever mounted on the housing, A pincer arranged in the housing is spring-biased to normally grip floss extending from a supply spool also arranged in the housing to the head and to retain the floss for being manually tensioned by a ring and clamp arrangement selectively clampable on a free end of the floss. The pincer is selectively releasable from the floss for pass ing clean floss from the spool to the head. The latter has a pair of spaced, co-directionally extending fingers forming a fork across which a length of floss is arranged for use. Each finger has a pair of floss guides provided thereon and arranged spaced from one another along the extent of the associated finger.

5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures DENTAL FLOSS HOLDER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to a dental hygiene appliance, and particularly to a holder and dispenser for dental floss.

2. Description of the Prior Art Although regular use of dental floss for removing harmful bacterial plaque from between teeth is universally recommended by the dental profession, the use of floss is generally resisted. A principal reason for this resistance is the conventional manner of using dental floss, wherein a length of the floss is held by the fingers of both of the hands of the user and the hands inserted into the users mouth to apply the floss to the teeth contained therein. Numerous floss holders have been proposed to eliminate the necessity of using this technique, but none have become popular with the public. Among difficulties encountered with these known floss holders and dispensers is obtaining proper tension of the floss and manipulation of the floss holding head for forcing the floss between the teeth.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a dental floss holder having improved floss tensioning.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a dental floss holder in which the shape of the holding head facilitates insertion of the floss between teeth to be cleaned.

These and other objects are achieved according to the present invention by providing a dental floss holder having a head provided with a pair of spaced, codirectionally extending fingers arranged forming a fork across which a length of floss is arrangeable. The head advantageously includes guides provided on each finger and arranged spaced from one another along a curvature of the head from a neck to which the head is connected to a substantially perpendicular orientation with respect to the neck, the curvature of the head permitting teeth of a jaw opposed to a jaw between teeth of which floss is to be inserted to bring pressure on the head and force floss between the teeth.

According to an advantageous feature of the present invention, a resilient pad is mounted on a convexly curved surface of the head adjacent the neck to which the head is attached and arranged for being contacted by the teeth of the opposed jaw.

The neck is preferably cantilever mounted to a housing forming a support and manipulating handle for the head. A pincer, and the like, is arranged in the housing for selectively retaining floss held by the head. Preferably, the pincer is arranged between a floss supply spool and the head along a path of floss passing from the spool to the head for normally gripping the floss under the bias of a spring associated with the pincer. An opening in the housing permits selective release of the pincer from the floss to permit clean floss to be passed from the spool to the head.

An arrangement including a clamp is selectively connectible to the free end of the floss for cooperating with the pincer and tensioning floss held by the head.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a dental floss holding and dispensing tool according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary, sectional view of the tool of FIG. 1 taken generally along the line 2-2 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, sectional view of the tool of FIG. 1 taken generally along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, elevational view, with a part removed, looking at the head portion of the tool of FIG. 1 from the right in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken generally along the line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary, perspective view showing a modified head assembly for a dental floss holding and dispensing tool according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary, perspective view showing the head assembly of FIG. 6 in a different orientation.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now more particularly to FIGS. 1 to 5 of the drawings, a dental floss holder 10 according to the present invention has a support 12 including a housing 14 provided with a cavity 16 and a cover 17 selectively enclosing cavity 16. Connected to support 12 for holding dental floss, and the like, in position to clean between teeth is a head portion 18 including a longitudinal neck 20 cantilever mounted on and arranged extending from housing 14, and a head 22 connected to a free end of neck 20.

A pincer 24 having a pair of elements pivotally connected together as at pivot 25 to form a pair of cooperating handles 26 and 28 and a pair of cooperating jaws 30 and 32 associated with the handles 26, 28, has a conventional torsion spring 33, and the like, arranged for biasing jaws 30, 32 toward one another and selectively gripping and retaining floss held by head portion 18. One of the handles, that designated 28 being illustrated in FIG. 3 of the drawings, is arranged abutting a wall 34 of housing 14, while the other of the handles, handle 26 as illustrated, has a portion thereof arranged in an opening 36 provided in a wall of housing 14 for selective movement toward handle 28 for opening jaws 30, 32 and releasing the floss. A button 38 is provided on the free end of handle 26 so as to extend through opening 36 and facilitate manipulation of handle 26 against the bias of spring 33. Pieces 40 constructed 7 from a suitable common, known resilient material, such as a foamed rubber, are advantageously arranged in opposed relationship on jaws 30 and 32 to assure positive gripping of the floss without damaging same.

A floss supply spool 42 is advantageously disposable in cavity 16 for furnishing floss 43 to head portion 18. As can be readily appreciated from the drawings, pincer 24 is arranged between spool 42 and head portion 18 so that jaws 30 and 32 are arranged along a path which the floss 43 traverses from spool 42 to head 22. j

A partition or abutment 44 is provided in cavity 16 so as to extend from the walls of housing 14 and prevent 1 from spool 42 to a path passing between jaws 30 and 32.

Head 22 is advantageously provided with a pair of spaced, co-directionally extending fingers 46 and 48 arranged forming a fork across which a length of floss 43 is arrangeable. As can be appreciated from the drawings, housing 14 forms a handle for manipulation of head 22 so as to properly position the floss 43 held by the head. An aperture 50 permits egress of floss 43 from housing 14, while an aperture 52 may be provided in head 22 to permit floss 43 to pass to the outside, or convex, surface of head 22. As can be readily appreciated from FIG. 3 of the drawings, head 22 is arranged curved from neck 20 to form a hump, and this curvature is continued until head 22 is substantially perpendicular in orientation with respect to neck 22. It is this curvature of head 22 which permits the teeth of a jaw (not shown) opposed to a jaw (not shown) between teeth of which the floss 43 is to be inserted to bring pressure on head 22 at a resilient pad 61 provided thereon to force floss 43 between the teeth. Notches 54, 56 and 58, 60 are provided on fingers 46 and 48, respectively, and are arranged spaced from one another along the curvature of head 22, and accordingly fingers 46, 48, for guiding floss 43 about head 22 and between fingers 46 and 48. The distance between, for example, notches 54 and 48 may be varied by appropriate selection of the size and spacing of fingers 46 and 48 in dependence on whether the particular holder is to be used by a child, young person, or an adult. In a like manner, the distance between notches 54 and 56, and 58 and 60, should also be varied for the same reasons.

Placement of pad 53 on the convexly curved surface, or hump, of head 22 will cushion the bite of the teeth of the pressure supplying jaw onto head 22.

A tension control device 62 (FIG. 1) is advantageously selectively clamped onto the free end of floss 43 for cooperating with pincer 24 and tensioning floss 43 held by head portion 18. This device 62 includes a clamp 64 selectively clampable to floss 43, and including two jaws 66 and 68 pivotally connected together and provided with a spring (not shown) arranged for biasing the jaws together. In essence, clamp 64 may be a conventional alligator clip, and the like. To clamp 64 is attached in a conventional manner a ring 70 arranged for engagement by a finger (not shown) of a user of holder for tensioning floss 43 passed between fingers 46 and 48 to a desired tension for use in cleaning between teeth.

FIGS. 6 and 7 of the drawings show a modified head 72 for a holder and dispenser according to the present invention in which a pair of fingers 74 and 76 are provided with apertures 78, 80 and 82, 84, respectively, which function in a manner similar to notches 54, 56, and 58, 60 of head 22. As can readily be appreciated, the location of the apertures 78, 80 and 82, 84 in fingers 74 and 76, and the size and spacing of the fingers themselves, may be varied in a like manner as for fingers 46 and 48 and their associated notches, and for essentially the same reasons.

It will be appreciated that a holder 10 according to the present invention can be constructed from any suit able, known material, including one selected from metals, synthetics, and the like, provided the material possesses sufficient strength, flexibility, and other requisite properties to properly function in the particular use.

With a dental floss holder and dispenser according to the present invention, it will no longer be necessary for one to put both hands into their mouth to use dental floss. A holder according to the present invention can be inserted much like a toothbrush, and by using a small hand mirror, and the like, one can easily see where the floss is being placed between the teeth. With a slight chewing motion on the holder, and specifically on pad 53, floss 43 can be slowly forced between the teeth and the proper motion made to remove the plaque, and the like, from between the teeth. Pad 53 protects the teeth opposite those between which floss 43 is inserted when the floss is being extracted from therebetween.

As can be readily understood from the above description and from the drawings, a dental floss holder and dispenser according to the present invention greatly facilitates use of dental floss by improved tensioning capability and general tool maneuverability.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A dental floss holder, comprising, in combination:

a. a support, the support including a housing having a cavity, a cover selectively enclosing the cavity, and a supply means for furnishing floss;

b. head means connected to the support for holding floss in position to clean between teeth;

0. gripping means for selectively retaining floss held by the head means, the gripping means being arranged in the cavity, and the gripping means arranged between the supply means and head means along a path of floss passing from the supply means to the head means, the gripping means including a pincer having a pair of elements pivotally connected together and arranged forming a pair of cooperating handles and a pair of cooperating jaws, and a spring biasing the jaws toward one another and gripping floss passing therebetween, resilient pieces mounted on the jaws for facilitating gripping of the floss, one of the handles being arranged abutting a wall of the housing and the other of the handles arranged in an opening provided in the housing and the other of the handles arranged in an opening provided in the housing for selective movement toward the one of the handles for opening the jaws and releasing the floss.

2. A structure as defined in claim 1, wherein the head means includes a longitudinal neck cantilever mounted on and arranged extending from the housing, and a head connected to a free end of the neck, the head being provided with a pair of spaced, co-directionally extending fingers arranged forming a fork across which a length of floss is arrangeable, the housing forming a handle for the head means.

3. A structure as defined in claim 2, wherein the head means further includes guide means provided on the head for guiding floss about the head'and between the fingers, the head being curved from the neck to form a hump and continued curving from the hump to a substantially perpendicular orientation with respect to the neck, the guide means including a pair of guides provided on each finger and arranged spaced from one another along the curvature of the head, and a resilient pad mounted on a convexly curved surface of the head adjacent the neck, the curvature of the head permitting teeth of a jaw opposed to a jaw between teeth of which the floss is to be inserted to bring pressure on the head to force the floss between the teeth, and the resilient pad protecting the teeth of the opposed jaw during extraction of the floss from between the teeth.

4. A structure as defined in claim 1, wherein the supfor engagement by a finger of a user of the holder. 

1. A dental floss holder, comprising, in combination: a. a support, the support including a housing having a cavity, a cover selectively enclosing the cavity, and a supply means for furnishing floss; b. head means connected to the support for holding floss in position to clean between teeth; c. gripping means for selectively retaining floss held by the head means, the gripping means being arranged in the cavity, and the gripping means arranged between the supply means and head means along a path of floss passing from the supply means to the head means, the gripping means including a pincer having a pair of elements pivotally connected together and arranged forming a pair of cooperating handles and a pair of cooperating jaws, and a spring biasing the jaws toward one another and gripping floss passing therebetween, resilient pieces mounted on the jaws for facilitating gripping of the floss, one of the handles being arranged abutting a wall of the housing and the other of the handles arranged in an opening provided in the housing and the other of the handles arranged in an opening provided in the housing for selective movement toward the one of the handles for opening the jaws and releasing the floss.
 1. A dental floss holder, comprising, in combination: a. a support, the support including a housing having a cavity, a cover selectively enclosing the cavity, and a supply means for furnishing floss; b. head means connected to the support for holding floss in position to clean between teeth; c. gripping means for selectively retaining floss held by the head means, the gripping means being arranged in the cavity, and the gripping means arranged between the supply means and head means along a path of floss passing from the supply means to the head means, the gripping means including a pincer having a pair of elements pivotally connected together and arranged forming a pair of cooperating handles and a pair of cooperating jaws, and a spring biasing the jaws toward one another and gripping floss passing therebetween, resilient pieces mounted on the jaws for facilitating gripping of the floss, one of the handles being arranged abutting a wall of the housing and the other of the handles arranged in an opening provided in the housing and the other of the handles arranged in an opening provided in the housing for selective movement toward the one of the handles for opening the jaws and releasing the floss.
 2. A structure as defined in claim 1, wherein the head means includes a longitudinal neck cantilever mounted on and arranged extending from the housing, and a head connected to a free end of the neck, the head being provided with a pair of spaced, co-directionally extending fingers arranged forming a fork across which a length of floss is arrangeable, the housing forming a handle for the head means.
 3. A structure as defined in claim 2, wherein the head means further includes guide means provided on the head for guiding floss about the head and between the fingers, the head being curved from the neck to form a hump and continued curving from the hump to a substantially perpendicular orientation with respect to the neck, the guide means including a pair of guides provided on each finger and arranged spaced from one another along the curvature of the head, and a resilient pad mounted on a convexly curved surface of the head adjacent the neck, the curvature of the head permitting teeth of a jaw opposed to a jaw between teeth of which the floss is to be inserted to bring pressure on the head to force the floss between the teeth, and the resilient pad protecting the teeth of the opposed jaw during extraction of the floss from between the teeth.
 4. A structure as defined in claim 1, wherein the supply means includes a spool of floss disposable in the cavity, and the housing includes an abutment arranged extending into the cavity for preventing movement of the spool toward the gripping means. 